Milling Weekend LJ event - Murchison, NZ #5: final - Forest bounty

As the last post to the milling weekend, here is the haul from the weekend, stacked and now air drying. Starting MC is well above readable range on my moisture meter, therefore in excess of 45%, so very ‘green’.

All told, about 40 bd ft of pine. Not an extraordinary amount but it does represent the first self milled lumber from my own trees, so it is a milestone. With 50 acres of harvestable plantation pine, surely the tip of the iceberg of what is possible!

looking good lucky woodhacker…..lolbut put andother layer of boards on top and then some heavy waight (concreteblocks, etc)to prevent warping and twisting when it dry and seal those ends so it don´t split/crackthe best is to do it right after you have feld the tree and cut it to lenght its at the end the moister will escape first

Craig also got some, so we milled a bit more…. was a very nice weekend, we should do this more often!Someone just called me and said he has a huge cedar they felled 7 years ago to mill… several 6m lengths so it was really huge. might take the alaskan to it – should be easy to cut. don’t know if its checked – 7 years is a long long time….

-- The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep...

I am indeed a lucky guy and I have a great set of friends ( or is that I am a lucky guy because I have such a great set of friends – pine optional).

Dennis,

I didn’t think sealing the end of a pine was all that important since it isn’t ring porous and so does not lose moisture as quickly from the ends.

Believe it or not, that pine tree was on the ground for 2 years before we milled it, though it was cut to length the day of milling. That stack is also not in its final resting place, just on the porch for now so it will be properly stored and weighted soon.

This time of year we have 100% humidity for the next 2 months or so ( spring rains – we get nearly 6ft of rain here over the year, much of it this time of year), so I am not too worried about it drying out too quickly – the opposite in fact, staying wet for too long and beginning to mold might be more of a concern.

Thanks for the tips!

Moshe – that sounds like a nice log to mill. It might not be as wet as the pine!

Congrats on your first boards! Yeah, I cut a lot of Pine and never bother with sealing end grain. A lot of hassle for no benefit. Don’t know what your temperatures are but with the high humidity you might have a blue stain problem? I always battle with it in summer here.

-- Div @ the bottom end of Africa. "A woodworker's sharpest tool should be his mind."

Exactly. Blue stain is the most likely concern after the pine is opened up. On the NZ beech the same conditions produce beautiful spalting.

Any tips for controlling blue stain without resorting to nasty fungicides? It’s not cold enough here now to control sapstain ( we rarely get temperatures below freezing and in any case, those few days are in July) and the pine is not going into any kiln.

OTOH, I’m not overly concerned with this particular batch since it is destined to be a set of utility shelves and blue stain is mainly a cosmetic staining and does not damage the wood – but when I start milling in larger batches, this might be of some interest.

Steve, The Pine I cut is mostly Pinus Radiatta. I think you guys have a lot of it too. To minimise blue stain in the summer, I let the boards sit side by side in full sun for a few days, then flip them over to suntan the other side too. Keep the boards off the ground. The idea is to dry the surface as quickly as possible, before stacking. No moisture, no blue stain. It works pretty well, although it is a bit of a hassle. I don’t like the chemicals and it is expensive. My timber is all airdried. Want to build a solar kiln one day!

For structural use, I’m not worried about the blue stain. Like you say it is a cosmetic thing.

-- Div @ the bottom end of Africa. "A woodworker's sharpest tool should be his mind."

Brilliant! Thanks! Yes, my pine is all radiata as well – 22Ha and all about 25 yo. This particular tree was felled by mother nature when a heavy August snow overloaded the branches. I too am not interested in nasty, expensive chemicals. I am happy to use the sun to suntan my boards… and I also have plans to build a solar kiln one day to dry all of my timber!

Hey Steve. 22Ha will keep you busy for a while! Maybe you should build a timber post and beam house with some of your radiatta! You know, it will help to reduce the stockpile. ;^)I am busy with that, the Pine is good for it. I have cut 100’s of cubes of Pine in my time. Feel free to PM me if I can help in any way.Have fun!

-- Div @ the bottom end of Africa. "A woodworker's sharpest tool should be his mind."

Thanks Div. I will be asking you about that. I’ve gone from wanting to build a log home to now settling on timber framing but mainly because the councils will not approve a log home made from radiata but I would be curious about your experience.

Yeah, councils and governments with all their frigging stupid rules and regulations! That is why I live on a farm in the mountains, so I can do as I please. Anyway, here by us ALL timber houses are built with Radiata, be they frame or log. The timber needs to be CCA treated though. You get different levels of treatment depending on application.The house I am building is a hybrid; post and beam combined with timber frame.Just read your profile. 250 Ha of forest!!! That green glow you see on the western horizon is just me, don’t worry. Enjoy!

-- Div @ the bottom end of Africa. "A woodworker's sharpest tool should be his mind."